Positivity

We define positivity as an upbeat, encouraging, it-can-be-done mentality.

Proverbs 17:22 - A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Attitude is contagious. We’ve all experienced people that make us excited and believe the best can and will happen and we’ve all met people who have the opposite effect.

We must understand how we affect an environment. We are thermostats!

We either bring energy or we suck the energy out of the room. Do people breathe in or breathe out when we come in the room?

Keys to Positivity:

1. We believe in each other.

People will rise to the level of our belief in them.

You can do it!

2. We will encourage each other.

Point out privately and publicly when someone has done well.

Praise before correction

3. Know when to voice concern and when to let people dream.

Positivity doesn’t mean blind support of every idea.

Let the idea breathe before you shoot it down.

Be excited with someone else’s excitement.

4. Celebrate often.

High fives, words of affirmation

Social media

We have some amazing volunteers!

The worship team was incredible today!

What an amazing weekend at STORYCHURCH.

Can’t wait for Easter - it’s going to be amazing!

5. Tell your face to be positive too.

Smile.

Non-verbal positivity.

Lean in.

Listen well.

Practice/Discussion:

What were some of the highlights of 2018 for you personally at STORYCHURCH?

Teachability

We define Teachability as the desire to learn and the willingness to change. (From The Key to Everything, by Matt Keller)

Proverbs 4:7 - Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.

Proverbs 9:9 - Instruct the wise and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous and they will learn even more.

Proverbs 10:17 - People who accept discipline are on the pathway to life, but those who ignore correction will go astray.

Proverbs 12:15 - Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.

Proverbs 19:20 - Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life.

5 Keys to being Teachable:

1. An openness to feedback.

Do I lean in or lean out?

Don’t wait for it to come, ask for it.

How was that? What could I do better next time?

Is this the vision you had for it?

2. Maintain the posture of a student.

None of us are experts. We’re all figuring it out.

We should be taking notes. Literal notes. All the time.

Taking notes as people share with us demonstrates that we are listening, that we are open, and that we desire to grow.

It models for our people the kind of attitudes we want everyone to have.

3. Active Curiosity.

Who else is doing this? How are they doing it?

Is there a better way?

Books, conferences, seeking out learning opportunities.

4. Flexibility.

We are willing to adjust according to what is best for the church or the experience as a whole.

Everything is an experiment.

We never do a “1st annual” anything. That assumes we’ll keep doing it.

If we can test it out we will.

Connection Groups is where we start ministry ideas.

5. Ask Questions.

We can learn something from everybody.

What can the guest teach you about our church?

What can the new volunteer reveal?

What insight can the guest speaker offer us?

Discussion:

Where have you seen this at STORYCHURCH?

How can we grow this in ourselves and in our church?

Loyalty

Acts 4:32 - All the believers were one in heart and mind.

We define loyalty as a commitment to protect one another regardless of whether or not we feel like they’ve earned it.

Without loyalty we end up with disunity. Our commitment to loyalty provides unity.

Here’s how we will practice loyalty:

1. We speak positively of each other.

Gossip and negativity won’t be tolerated.

Gossip is when people are having a meeting about you without you.

Dave Ramsey says it is discussing anything negative with someone who can’t fix the problem.

2. Loyalty goes up, not down.

We protect and defend the vision of the church and the leadership of the church over our particular departments or the volunteers we lead.

If your loyalty is down to those you lead you’ll end up resenting the vision and leadership of the church.

Example: “Hey guys, these changes will make us a better team and really help us stay in alignment with the mission and vision of STORYCHURCH” (loyalty up) vs. “Sorry about this guys, it’s something the staff wants us to do even though I don’t think it’s the best idea” (loyalty down).

3. We give each other the benefit of the doubt and defend each other publicly.

Someone at some point is going to complain to you about someone else in leadership.

“I don’t know why that decision was made, but I can promise you their heart is right. Let’s go talk to them."

We ALWAYS drive people toward having conversations with the people they have the issue with.

Assume the heart is right/good no matter what.

4. We believe that the leadership of the church has our best interests in mind.

Whether we understand everything or not, we trust that decisions are made through careful consideration, prayer, seeking wise counsel, etc.

Discussion:

Where is this difficult in practice?

If someone complained about you to someone else on our team, what would you expect / want them to do with that?

Excellence

We define Excellence as doing our absolute best as if our name and reputation were attached to everything we do.

Coach K - every pass, every shot has our name on it.

Don’t do the minimum. do your best.

Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work.

Colossians 3:23-24 - Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Think about your favorite restaurant – it's not just one thing. It's the Decour, the service, the food, the lighting.

Parking lot to parking lot philosophy

people will make judgments about God based on their experience with us

imagine the wife who has been praying for three years that her husband will come and he finally does. Does his experience matter?

the temptation is to slide into "good enough"

we have to combat that attitude

4 Keys to Excellence:

1. We won’t let resources hinder our thinking.

It’s not a money thing, it’s a thinking thing.

Find a way. Ask for favors. Be resourceful.

2. Delegate the execution without eliminating the vision.

The balance between letting go and micromanaging.

We have to trust people enough to carry it forward.

The more I let go of things the more Excellent we can become.

If the end result isn’t excellent it’s because we failed to lead well.

3. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth evaluating.

A) Neutral.

Maybe positive to the new person but to most it’s neutral

Coffee and muffins

When it’s neutral, how do we turn it into a positive?

B ) Negative.

Can hurt us.

Don’t do NEW until you fix what’s hurting you.

If we were all fired and new leaders came in, what would their first move be?

What do fresh eyes see?

C) Positive.

It’s giving us momentum.

Stage updates, new series, changing the lobby, etc.

When it’s positive, how do we add fuel to it?

4 Important Questions for Evaluation:

What is right?

What is wrong?

What is missing?

What is confusing?

4. Excellence does NOT equal perfection.

We can do damage to our teams with a perfection mentality.

Excellence focuses on the product, perfection focuses on the person.

It’s never about perfection, it’s about learning and growing and getting better.

Discussion:

How do you know if something is Neutral / Negative / Positive?

Where have you seen resourcefulness work out well at STORYCHURCH?

Fun

We define fun as anything that brings joy, laughter, or whimsy to an event, meeting or workplace.

Ecclesiastes 8:15 - So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.

Keys to Fun:

1. We won’t take ourselves too seriously.

We should be able to laugh at ourselves.

2. Every gathering of people should include laughter.

Laughter opens our hearts to one another and to God.

It should be normal in our environments for people to feel joy.

If you’re leading a meeting, plan for it.

If you’re in a meeting - model it.

3. We will work at being friends and not just coworkers.

Friends are people you want to do life with. You enjoy hanging out.

Outside of meetings and church we want to do life together.

We wouldn’t have you on this team if we don’t like hanging out with you. Period.

Discussion:

What are some of the fun things you’ve seen / experienced at STORYCHURCH?